Dubai Economy Discuss Future-Readiness at 2nd Business Community Engagement Forum

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group, Dubai Economy hosted the 2^nd Business Community Engagement (BCE) Forum under the theme ‘Enabling a Future-Ready Business Environment.’ The Forum was aimed to strengthen the partnership between Dubai Economy and the business community in Dubai, and particularly support businesses to be future-ready amidst the unstoppable global mega trends. 

The BCE Forum brought together representatives of business councils and groups in Dubai and diplomatic delegations along with chief executives of major companies operating in the UAE on account of their vital role in promoting sustainable economic development and business competitiveness in the Emirate.

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of Dubai Economy, said that the annual BCE Forum is a strategic event for Dubai Economy to position itself as a prime facilitator and enabler for businesses in all sectors to grow sustainably.

“The BCE initiative was launched in April 2016 to deepen the strategic engagement between the Department of Economic Development and the business groups, councils, associations and corporate sector. The theme of this 2^nd Forum – ‘Enabling a future-ready business environment’ - is indeed timely and relevant. To be future-ready means to be prepared for new opportunities, growth, development and investments. The outcome is a better economy, an efficient business environment, an effective organisation and an advanced quality of life for all,” said Al Qamzi.

Al Qamzi added that Dubai has come a long way in achieving comprehensive and sustainable development based on innovation and high productivity, by building a diverse base of high value added economic activities, which has also enabled the national economy to grow and adjust to internal and external shocks.

“GDP growth in Dubai is expected to reach 3.2% this year, 3.5% in 2018, and 3.7% in 2019, supported by a stimulating business environment that is the best in the Arab world and 21^st among 190 global economies, according to the latest Doing Business report of the World Bank. The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 17^th worldwide in the Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018, issued by the World Economic Forum. The country also ranked first in the region and 18^th globally among the most competitive countries in the 2017 Competitiveness Index of the International Competitiveness Centre of the International Institute for Administrative Development,” said Al Qamzi.

Al Qamzi also announced the launch of four initiatives aimed to empower the business community in Dubai - EngageDXB, an APP to connect the leadership of all Business Group Entities; the Dubai Quality Appreciation Award for Business Groups & Councils; Legal Status for Business Groups and Councils, and a Future Industry and Foresight initiative to serve as a resource for business groups. 

Inviting the business community to be part of the new initiatives and thereby take advantage of the opportunities to improve performance, provide better services to members, and attract new members, Al Qamzi reminded of the need to strengthen the collective voice and efforts aimed to develop business in Dubai. "We are working tirelessly to raise the concept of a business-supporting government to a new level of understanding, partnership and mutual respect, and we will continue to co-operate with business groups and regulatory bodies to address the various issues and challenges, and help businesses to be future-ready.

Mohammed Shael Al Saadi, CEO, Corporate Strategic Affairs Sector in Dubai Economy, said Engage DXB is the first unique virtual networking platform that connects all Dubai business groups and key stakeholders to communicate and share information on Dubai Economy and group activities thus taking business engagements to the next level. “The App serves as a communication channel to gather feedback and suggestions, network and share information on events or industry insights. It enables real time surveys administered by Dubai Economy to check feedback, and can perform fast analytics.”

Explaining about the legal status for business group entities to be granted under ‘Businessmen Forum Activity and Legal type’, Al Saadi said it will allow all registered business groups, councils & associations under Dubai Chambers to obtain a DED trade license that avails them of a business bank account, thereby improving their positioning, credibility and stature to serve their industry and members better. The Dubai Quality Appreciation Award for Business Groups & Councils is also aimed to help business groups improve their ability to serve their members better, build reputation and attract new members. Business Groups will also have the opportunity to avail itself of the knowledge, resources, and expertise of Business Excellence Department in Dubai Economy.

Al Saadi said theFuture Industry & Foresight Initiative has been launched in partnership with Frost & Sullivan Global to serve as a resource for businesses and industry on the trends, technologies and developments happening globally and locally. “Through the initiative, Dubai Economy will also work with the various government entities in the emirate to ensure a future-ready business environment. The initiative will see various workshops organised in different industry segments, help business leaders understand and analyse trends, identify opportunities, build capacity to capitalise trends, and even create new trends and markets.”

Al Saadi expressed hope that the four initiatives will be the starting point for further collaboration between Dubai Economy and business groups.  “Our evidence has shown that only through continuous conversations and collaborations with the Business Groups, Councils and Associations – or the Representative Entities, as we call them - can we have richer solutions and initiatives for the economy and industry.”

Wael Osman, Director, Strategy Department in Dubai Economy, presented the Dubai Economic Strategy 2018-2021, with emphasis on its main axes of which the most important is enhancing the role of Dubai Economy in developing the overall economy in the emirate and positioning Dubai as a global economic research centre.  Alexandar Williams, Director of Future Economy, presented preliminary findings of a survey on the state of future-readiness of Dubai’s companies as well as the strategies to enable a future-ready economy.

Speaking in the first panel session of the forum on ‘Enabling Dubai’s Future-Readiness,’ Hani Al Hamli, Director of the Dubai Competitiveness Office charted the future competitiveness of Dubai. Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government Establishment; Marjan Faraidooni, Senior Vice President, Legacy Development & Impact, Expo 2020 Dubai; Dr Noah Raford, CEO, Futurist-in-Chief, Dubai Future Foundation, and Dr Abdulaziz Istaitieh, Senior Economic advisor, Policy & Strategy, General Secretariat of Dubai Executive Council also spoke on the most outstanding initiatives Dubai has embarked on in its quest to be future-ready.

The second panel session on ‘Enabling a Future-Ready Organisation & Industry’ had Bashar Lazaar, Director of Operations at MENA ConsenSys; Nadia Abdul Aziz, President, National Association of Freight & Logistics (NAFL), Fiata; Omar Christidis, CEO of Arabnet; Lisa Pennington, Events Director/Consultant – International Live Events Association (ILEA), and Aroop Zutshi, Global President and Managing Partner, Frost & Sullivan Inc. as speakers.

Since its launch, Dubai Economy has had various engagements with groups in various sectors such as the travel & tourism, hospitality asset, gold & jewelry, textile, remittance, interior designer, brand protection, logistics & freight, international events, retail, supply chain and ship owners association over a variety of issues, feedback and ideas on how to resolve industry challenges. Dubai Economy will work with all government regulators and businesses to discuss the challenges and opportunities to bring the business groups and the industries based in Dubai to the next level over the long term.